Bottom Line: The Dolby Dimension wireless headphones are built for technophiles, with excellent sound quality, noise cancellation, head tracking, and the ability to hear your surroundings and media at the same time.

Who Makes the Best Headphones?

The truth is, the earbuds that come with iPhones and many new Android phones sound a lot better than they used to. Still, if you're serious about music, those plastic pods can only take you so far. The single best accessory upgrade you can buy for a new media player, smartphone, or tablet is a solid pair of headphones.

With so many choices, ranging from inexpensive cans you can pick up at the local Best Buy, to budget-busting, finely tuned masterpieces, finding the right pair of headphones can be tough. But if you spend the time to pick the right pair, and you take good care of them, your headphones can easily outlive the device that's delivering your music.

Headphones vs. Earphones

There's an endless selection when it comes to headphone design, but you're basically choosing between padded over-the-ear headphones or snug in-canal earphones. Both have their merits, but for this roundup we're focusing on the over-the-ear and around-the-ear design of traditional headphones.

Generally, headphones are able to reproduce richer low-end audio, since they have larger drivers than earphones and they don't rely on an in-ear seal to deliver sound. Some listeners also find headphones more comfortable to wear, and easier to put on and take off, than they do earphones. This naturally means that headphones are bulkier, and less suited to the gym.

Do You Need Noise Cancellation?

You might try to dismiss the din of the outside world by cranking up the volume, but the best solution for saving your sanity—and your ears—is to invest in a pair of noise-cancelling headphones, so you can enjoy your audio at much lower volumes.

Active noise-cancelling headphones use microphones on the earcups to measure outside noise and adjust the signal to cancel it out. It's an effective technology, but it depends on power for the noise cancellation circuitry to work. For more, have a look at our picks for The Best Noise-Cancelling Headphones.

If you just want to block out sound without active noise cancellation, good over-ear headphones will naturally do that to some extent. This is called noise isolation, and it simply works from the earcups forming a good seal over your ears to prevent outside noise from getting in. It's not as effective, but it's less expensive than active noise cancellation and doesn't require power.

Types of Wireless Headphones

Wireless headphones can be convenient in any situation where you don't want to deal with dangling cables—like the gym, for example. And now that many phone manufacturers are no longer including 3.5mm audio jacks, wireless headphones are also a good way to ensure you'll be able to connect with all the latest devices.

While the data signal containing Bluetooth audio is compressed, headphone and earphone manufacturers have found ways to enhance the signal to compensate for its deficiencies in a way that even audiophiles can appreciate. We've included some wireless options here, but if you're really keen on cutting the cord, check out The Best Wireless Headphones. And if you want to go completely wireless (with no cord at all connecting the two earpieces), check out The Best True Wireless Headphones—just keep in mind these are about as far from over-ear headphones as you can get.

Bottom Line: The Dolby Dimension wireless headphones are built for technophiles, with excellent sound quality, noise cancellation, head tracking, and the ability to hear your surroundings and media at the same time.

About the Author

Will Greenwald has been covering consumer technology for a decade, and has served on the editorial staffs of CNET.com, Sound & Vision, and Maximum PC. His work and analysis has been seen in GamePro, Tested.com, Geek.com, and several other publications. He currently covers consumer electronics in the PC Labs as the in-house home entertainment expert, reviewing TVs, media hubs, speakers, headphones, and gaming accessories. Will is also an ISF Level II-certified TV calibrator, which ensures the thoroughness and accuracy of all PCMag TV reviews. See Full Bio